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Cross Country Coach Mark Northuis Honored by His Peers

Submitted by Tom Renner on Wed, 2012-11-14 16:03

HOLLAND -- Hope College cross country coach Mark Northuis has beenhonored by his peers as the Great Lakes Region women's cross countrycoach of the year. The award is given by the U.S. Track & Field CrossCountry Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Northuis coached the Flying Dutch to the championship of the NCAADivision III Great Lakes Regional this past weekend. The team will runin the national championship this coming Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.

The regional championship is Hope's first in 25 years. Hope crosscountry teams (women and men) are no strangers to the nationalchampionship, however. In 24 years under Northuis, Hope has qualifiedteams or individual runners to nationals a combined 25 times betweenthe men's and women's programs.

The academic performance of his teams is a point of pride for coachNorthuis. The women's program has, for example, been named to the MIAAAcademic Honor Roll for 14 consecutive years. Both programs regularlyare named to the academic honor roll of the USTFCCA.

A five-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA)all-conference cross country and track runner at Hope, As a collegian,he was among the nation's top small college cross country runners,finishing 27th as both a junior and senior at the NCAA Division IIInational championship meet. In track, he won the 5,000 meter run atthe 1980 MIAA Field Day.

Northuis has guided the cross country fortunes of his alma mater since1988. The Flying Dutch won the league championship in 2004 and 2011.Northuis is a professor of kinesiology and chair of the department. Heis active in the College Cross Country Coaches Association and hasserved on the NCAA Division III advisory committee for cross countryand track & field.

As a collegian, he was among the nation's top small college crosscountry runners, finishing 27th as both a junior and senior at theNCAA Division III national championship meet. In track, Northuis wonthe 5,000 meter run at the 1980 MIAA Field Day.

Northuis earned the Masters degree in exercise physiology at theUniversity of Michigan and received the Ph.D. in exercise science fromthe University of Minnesota.

He and his wife, Pam Bulthouse, a 1981 Hope graduate, have fivechildren, Anders, Elizabeth, Klare, Madalyn, and Michaela.